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November 23, 2008

Thirty Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time - From Back to Front

Well, folks, here we are, once again, finishing up what we started nearly a year ago, liturgically, I mean. We are celebrating the 34th and last Sunday of the liturgical year. “Where has the time gone, you ask?” Of course, we’ve been busy about a lot of things during this past year, not all of them having to do with liturgy or the spiritual life, of course, but important to our life nonetheless. Obviously, we divide our daily life into all sorts of activities.

Generally speaking, though, we also find ourselves occasionally taking stock of our lives over a certain period of time: Usually, it happens on New Years Eve or New Years day! At any rate, many of us feel that our lives have not always been running so smoothly; we lose focus, we get lazy, we forget or get distracted. Like the owner of a car we, do a regular 5000-mile checkup.

Actually, in our civic life, it is probably not that difficult to deal with all this because we already know what resolutions we made last year and how they were kept. But, looking back, we can find a lot of holes in this year’s progress. What’s the phrase about the best intentions?

For Christians, and people generally who take their spiritual life seriously, it is a different matter: different, in the sense that they (we) may not always know precisely what model we should base our spiritual progress on. Many of us, obviously, have our personal methods of living our faith: Some seem to work; others work for a while and then they are forgotten. So, where can one find a standard that will give us some solid, long-lasting satisfaction in our efforts to follow Christ?

You knew beforehand, of course, that I was going to say: “Go to the scriptures, go the words of Jesus, go to the gospels proclaimed in our liturgical year.” That’s exactly what I am going to say! After all, we receive a short serving of those gospels every Sunday in the liturgy during he year

So, here we are at the end, the Thirty Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

We started the year way back last January with Second Sunday; now we are once again at the end.

It may be a little late to say this, but I am going to suggest that we should have been following the liturgical year from back to front because the most important model for living the Christian life appears in the gospel for the last Sunday, the 34th.

You just heard it: It’s the great social gospel passage about love of Christ that equals love of neighbor or vice versa.

For myself this is a beautiful but also a scary gospel passage. It is probably one of the most unambiguous homilies that Jesus ever gave. The interesting part of it is this: Jesus makes it clear that when one cares for the poor, the naked, the prisoner, the ill the neglected he/she serves Christ.

The problem is, we do not often associate the works of charity with serving Christ, but that is precisely what Jesus is saying: What you do for the least of my sisters and brothers, you do for me.

Now, here comes the hard part: All these good works sound very nice, but my hunch is that many of us do not practice them very consistently. Oh yes, we get busy and work hard at it from time to time, but then we forget all about our best intentions until a hurricane blows through Florida or Louisiana. Then suddenly, we dig into our wallet or purse and put the twenty sixth chapter of Matthew to work. After that, however, we often we do little more until the next earthquake or similar disaster appears on the horizon.

That is why I am suggesting that we should read and reflect on the gospels from back to front, from the Last Judgment to the Nativity, I don’t mean to say that we should just try to get Matthew twenty six out of the way early on, but once it is in front of us we can hardly forget it for the rest of the year. It’s just too clear, too down to earth for us to miss to the implications.

Now, I realize that those folks who put the lectionary together will never change the order of it, but what’s stopping us from making Matthew twenty six the model for all of our Christian resolutions and actions during the entire year? Yes, we may find it a difficult passage, mainly because it meets us and challenges us in the real world, the world where we live and work with others.

Finally, we should say that if Matthew twenty six keeps making our life miserable, well, that’s ok. If it means that we are pressed to confront our brother and sister in the world just the way they are, well, that’s the breaks. In short, if we’re trying to avoid all those difficult suffering human situations around us each day, for sure we are going to miss meeting Christ. At least, that’s what Jesus seems to be telling us. “Hey,” he says, “if you were looking for me, you could have found me out there on the street with the folks who are poor, the naked, the hungry, the thirsty, the hospitalized. Those are the folks I usually hang out with, you see.”

The scriptures: Ezekiel 34: 11-12,15-17; 1 Corinthians 15: 20-26. 28;
Matthew 25L 31-46

Posted by Cindy Lentine at 11:52 AM.

November 16, 2008

The Thirty Third Sunday in Ordinary Time - Sharing the Wealth

It occurs to me that there are large numbers of people in this world who work in the field of communication. Actually, when you think about it, we all somehow work in communication. The fact that I wrote this homily on an Apple computer, tells you that I managed to learn enough about this machine to be able to produce something with it.

Communication is absolutely important to us; how else are we to understand others and live in peace with them?

It wasn’t always so, of course: Just think for instance how the church scattered around the world used to communicate with the pope and he with us. It would take months, for instance, for a message to travel back and forth to Rome. Today, I can go on-line, pull up Google and punch in the Vatican and, boom, there is the latest letter by Pope Benedict XVI. Or, if I want a commentary on it, I can go to John Allen’s column in the National Catholic Reporter, and there it is explained for me. Or, again if I want to get further commentary on the state of the Church today, I can simply read America or Commonweal or some other Catholic periodical and there I will find some insightful author giving me his or her latest insight. Such are the marvels of the modern mind and machine.

But think about this too: Someone, some individual or even many people had a hand in bringing this piece of information to me and also to you. In some sense or other, this person truly wanted to share his insights with the world. Of course, skilled people like this person also want to earn their keep. In justice, they need to get paid, but I would also like to believe that the insights they have shared with us are equally as important as the recompense they receive. Without all this, the world would be all the poorer.

I think, for instance of people too who have a hand in helping me produce this small piece of “wisdom.” Steve Jobs, the CEO of Apple had a hand in it, so to Bill gates the founder and president of Microsoft or Michael Dell, founder and CEO of Dell Personal Computers. I think too of Carly Fiorina, the one-time head of Hewlet Packard. I might still be writing this with a goose quill without their creative instincts.

Most of us, of course, don’t fit the model of the people I just mentioned. Nonetheless, we have something to share, small as it might be, and that something will eventually make a difference in the way we look at the world. We may never know what that difference is, but, believe me, it will appear sometime in the future.

So, what difference do we make in this world. Let me suggest for you the example of the woman (no name given) cited in the first reading today from the Book of Proverbs.
She is being praised for her gifts, but it is interesting how it all comes across: The men are sitting at the city gates, discussing world affairs. The author of the book praises the man who is fortunate enough to have married a woman of many talents: She’s a “stay-at-home mom, she sews clothing for the family, makes sure the poor at her door are served, all the wonderful things a woman does naturally.

Then, at the end, the author of Proverbs makes the point that she will be remembered not for her charm and good looks, but for her industriousness. (she was a workaholic) Given those talents, he her husband, can now sit at the city gates discussing world affairs with his cronies.

The point of all this, of course, is not that she made her husband look good but that she communicated with the world. She did things that made the world appreciate her. In other words, she took the risk to share what she had with the world around her.

I hail her as a model for many women in history who have made a mark on the world. I think, for instance, of women like Dorothy Day, founder of the Hospitality Houses, of Madame Curie, the medical scientist, Hildegard of Bingen, 12th century nun, poet, painter and papal reformer. I think too of Catherine of Sienna, mystic and geo-politician and lastly of Mother Teresa of Calcutta.

I could go on and on, but the point is that these women communicated immensely to the world, whether they knew it or not.

Obviously, the same is true of women in our own time: They are university presidents, CEO’s of large companies, chancellors of Catholic dioceses. All this has been a long time in coming, but now that it is, here we are all the better for it. They risked and it paid off.

Now, briefly regarding the gospel for this liturgy: The same theme appears once again: A man of some means gives different amounts of money to three “investors.” They are asked to go out and invest it wisely. Two did and came back the richer. The third decided not to take a risk; he buries it in the ground! Two risk-takers come away with more. The one who couldn’t bring himself to put his amount on the market, loses it and his life along with it. End of a sad story.

So, the lesson we learn from all this is that our human gifts and talents are not our own, they belong to God’s world, all people of God’s world. The catch, of course, is that we need to take some risk in communicating them. Sometimes we win, sometimes we lose, but it’s worth the risk.

In short, how will the world look without our gifts that is the question? At any rate it will never do the world or ourselves any good if we bury the gifts that God has given us.

I’d like to think of one more reward that unnamed woman in Proverbs received for her good works. She got her name and her work mentioned in the Bible, right? No small thing. Let’s hope, then, that each of us will be remembered too, not only here on earth but in God’s kingdom as well.

Proverbs 31: 10-13; 1Thessalonians 5: 1-6; Matthew 25: 14-30

Posted by Cindy Lentine at 10:51 AM.

November 09, 2008

Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome -

Let me tell you a little story, it’s a story about church, a small, clapboard church in the Mississippi. It’s also about a grandmother and her two little grandchildren who always walked to that church together each Sunday. As they would get nearer the old run down church, they always had this interesting little conversational ritual; it went like this: The kids would say: “Hey, grandma, there’s our church up ahead.” And the grandma would always reply, “No, that’s not our church.” “But it is, grandma, that is our church that’s where we go every Sunday” “No,” grandma would reply, “our church is underneath that church; that’s the real church we belong to.

I would be willing to bet that there are very few Catholics who would describe their church in that way. Yes, they know the name of their neighborhood church and perhaps that’s all that counts for them. Whether they are actually attendees of that church or not, they may at least drive by occasionally, they may hear their neighbors tell of the activities that go on there, they may even ask whether the pastor is a “nice guy.” In other words, there seems to be no doubt that churches are talking points in most communities. What a church does or does not do is often big news locally.

As we just said, therefore, parish churches are important to most Catholics; their consciences are formed there by what they hear or do not hear from the pulpit.

More importantly still, the spiritual life of most sincere Catholics is formed by the church itself, by the joyful celebration of the liturgy and the sacraments, by the proclamation of the word. It is good that this is so because there is so much “competition” in peoples’ lives from the world outside the Church.

It occurs to me also that the modern-day Catholics may have a somewhat different perception of the role of their local parish than a former generation may have had. Remember the old saying: “Good Catholics, pay, pray and obey. Well, many still do pay, pray and obey, but, for others, the sense of church and the role of conscience are formed by biblical reflection, dialogue with other Christians, and careful listening to the Sunday homily. All these play an important part in Christian living. Yes, they still do pay, pray and obey but now more critically and intelligently. In short, Catholics love their parish so much that they want it to be the central source of their spiritual life.

At the same time, the local parish is not as “safe” as it once was: At one time, many Catholics chose to stay close to home, their neighborhood, even though the life of their home parish might not have been very stimulating, intellectually and spiritually.

Today, on the other hand, it is not unusual for many Catholics to search for a church which seems to offer them better options than they now have; no not a quickie Mass and short homily, but rather a prayerful and beautiful celebration of the liturgy, stimulating and challenging preaching, solid catechesis for their children, opportunities for their teenagers to engage the changing world.

At the same time, if the insightful Catholic finds the church he/she is looking for, you can bet they will be challenged to rethink their notion of what Church is all about.

All of this came to mind as I examined the scriptures assigned for today’s feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome. It’s not an exact model of the parish church back home, but it is definitely presented to us as a model for all Catholic churches.

A little history: A basilica is a cathedral, a cathedral plus. It is the mother church around which others are bonded. This basilica whose original dedication we are honoring today has had several names: Basilica of the Savior, but more commonly, the Lateran basilica because it was originally the home of the Laterani family who donated it to Fausta, wife of the emperor Constantine, who, in turn, donated it to the Catholic church in Rome.

Interestingly, it happens to be the pope’s church; He, therefore, often travels across the Tiber River to celebrate the liturgy in his own parish. The people who make the Basilica of St. John their parish church, can expect the pope to come in unannounced, to celebrate liturgy and preach. Wouldn’t it be nice if the pope were our pastor (well, actually, he is)?

An interesting Latin phrase appears on an interior wall of St. John Lateran “Omnium urbis et orbis Ecclesiarum mater et caput.” “The mother and head of all the churches of the city and the world.” That will tell you immediately how important the Basilica of St. John is. In a sense it is your parish church too. We are all linked to this mother church; we are all linked to the pastor, Benedict XVI. True, all this may seem a bit symbolic, but it is important to realize that the Catholic Church is one in head and members. We truly have only one pastor, Benedict XVI.

So, what should all this mean to us? I think it should mean that there is always a church somewhere that will welcome you into its folds. If you are hungry for spiritual nourishment, there is a church down the street or across town just waiting to welcome you. If you have not visited that church for some time, go and try it out. You may be pleasantly surprised. At the same time, be aware that your choice may cost you something, no, not money, not your “sacrifice” for a short homily but your full dedication to those who have welcomed you in. That’s what church is all about, or at least it should be.

The scriptures: Ezekiel 47: 1-2, 8-9; 1 Corinthians 9: 3c-11, 16-17; John 2: 13-2

Posted by Cindy Lentine at 10:58 AM.

November 02, 2008

Commemoration of all the Faithful Departed - (All Souls Day)

Nikos Kazantzakis, is one of my all-time favorite authors. He was born in Iraklion, Crete. He had many literary successes; in fact, he missed receiving the Nobel Prize for Literature by one point to the French author, Albert Camus. But his greatest joy came from writing about his own kind, the working class, farmers and miners. The novel I love most is entitled, Zorba the Greek. It’s the story of a rough textured man who worked with his hands but dreamt dreams of greatness.

When we meet him in the book, he is planning this grand adventure of re-opening a coal mine on the Island of Crete. Of course, nothing goes well: The trestle that was meant to carry the coal to the port collapsed. The grand venture had come to nothing

So, here is Zorba and his English friend (the narrator) sitting on the shore of the Mediterranean, drinking wine, and smoking black, twisted cigars. Zorba is still dreaming of the mine that failed. Is he despondent over it, however? No, indeed, not at all. In fact, he already has other ventures in the planning stages. So, he remarks to his friend: “How simple and fugal a thing is happiness: A glass of wine, a roast chestnut, a wretched little brazier and the sound of the sea. Then he concludes with this amazing philosophical statement: “You know, my friend,” he says, “a man like me should live forever.” Don’t we all wish and hope the same?

At any rate, it seems like a vain wish because we know it is not going to happen, at least in this world. Nonetheless, my friends here we are this evening celebrating that very notion, life forever. We call this day the Commemoration of all the Faithful Departed. We remember with great devotion all those who have passed before us, whether they have been close relatives or people completely unknown to us, baptized or non-baptized.

I am convinced, then. that there is a sort of deep longing, indeed a conviction in all of us that, some how or other, we will live forever. Therefore, being baptized Christians, we have firm hope that our life, in some form or other will perdure the present world, as we know it.

But let me suggest also that it is not so much eternal life with God that we puzzle over, indeed, that is a mystery of its own. Rather we are left to wonder about the phenomenon of death, that experience we all must some day pass through. Science has no answer to it, neither literature nor philosophy.

So, what are we left with? We are left with faith in the God who created us, faith in the God who has sustained us and faith in the God whom we firmly believe will welcome us to the kingdom for all eternity, as his Son, Jesus promised.

But let me tell you, my friends, what puzzles me the most in all this is not the inevitability of my own death, but rather the deaths of those who have died so violently and uselessly. I think, for instance, of the senseless death of three religious sisters and their young laywoman companion, missionaries all, who were raped and killed in El Salvador. I think of the six Jesuit educators and their housekeeper who were killed under cover of darkness by Salvadoran soldiers. And I think especially of Archbishop Oscar Romero who was shot through the heart as he celebrated the Eucharist at a convent of nuns.

I think too, of course of the millions of children in the womb who have been killed (literally) over these many years. No chance for life there, obviously.

Lastly, I think of all the people, lay and civilian who have been killed in our time in senseless wars. (Dan Berrigan, by the way, the Jesuit poet, once said that nation wins wars; every war is a tragedy of loss on both sides).

Perhaps then, it is not so much that people die, but that they die senselessly and violently at the hands of their brothers and sisters. Why, in heavens name, can we not live at peace with one another?

Ultimately, in all this, it seems that we are left to our own devices. Fortunately, we have the company and the assurance of our sisters and brothers who share our common faith. This is the church that always appeals to the sacred scriptures, if not for answers, then surely for hope and a sense of peace.

This is precisely what the author of the Book of Wisdom reminds us of when he says: “The souls of the just are in the hands of God and no torment will touch them. In the view of the foolish they seemed to be dead, and their passing utter destruction, but they are at peace.

Dare we imagine, then, that this might also have been the last thought of Jesus, as he hung on the cross? Not that His Father would rescue him and raise Him up on the third day, but rather that he had struggled throughout all his adult life to bring some semblance of peace and justice to a violent world. Finally, then, he must have been at peace, knowing that he had, at least, done something give the world hope.

Dare we also believe that we can look forward to a peaceful rest at the end of our days if we have struggled, as Jesus did, to bring some semblance of peace to the small world in which we live?

In all of this, I am reminded of some lines from two authors whom I appreciate: First, Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel who said this: “Throughout our life we continue to fight against dying. We have our own peculiar ways of doing that, ways that others may never understand. But this is the manner in which we personally stave off death as long as we can.”

And a second author, the poet, Dylan Thomas: “Do not go gentle into that good night,” he says. Old age should burn with rage at close of day. “Rage, rage at the dying of the light.”

That, my friends, in some mysterious way, is what I think we do as Christians on this day we celebrate in faith the memory of all the faithful departed. Armed with the faith into which we all were baptized, we fight against the dying of the light. We do it all because, ultimately we believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, raised from the dead who is truly the light of the world.

The scriptures: Wisdom: 3: 1-9; Romans 6: 3-9; John 6: 37-40

Posted by Cindy Lentine at 08:57 AM.